strange tales #123: property damage 28

Written by: Stan Lee ('Nuff Said)

Illustrated by: Carl Burgos (Who was first to draw The Torch, way back in the Golden Age of Comics)

Inked by: Darlin' Dick Ayers

Lettered by: Smilin' Sam Rosen

There's so much to talk about today. First of all, this issue of Strange Tales heralds the very brief return of Carl Burgos to the Marvel fold. It wasn't to be a happy reunion. Lee and Burgos did not work well together, and a couple of years down the line, Burgos would see his hopes of owning the Human Torch dashed when Marvel featured him in Fantastic Four Annual #4 just before the copyright expired.

This issue also marks the point where the Thing started appearing consistently in the book, sharing the plots and actions with the Human Torch. Perhaps this was a move by Marvel to rejuvenate the troubled strip, perhaps this was an admission that the Human Torch wasn't the breakout character. Either way, from here to the end, this strip is a two-hander.

There's almost to space for me to mention that The Beetle has broken into a shop to steal the cash register, a loss of a day's takings, whilst The Thing arrived by destroying one of the exterior walls, causing the loss of the entire business to the owner.